Editing Bomb disposal (section)

==EOD equipment==
===Bomb disposal vehicle===
{{See also|Emergency vehicle}}
[[File:FBI Gear from the bomb techs vehicle.jpg|thumb|A bomb disposal vehicle used by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]]]
A bomb disposal vehicle is a vehicle used by bomb disposal squads to transport equipment and [[Remote-control vehicle|bomb disposal robots]], or to store bombs for later disposal. They are often vans or trucks, typically with at least one [[Bomb disposal#Bomb containment chamber|bomb containment chamber]] installed in the rear of the vehicle, and ramps to allow bomb disposal robots to access the vehicle. Bomb disposal vehicles are generally not explosive-resistant and are only used for transporting explosives for disposal, not actively disposing of them.

===Portable X-ray systems===
[[File:EOD training.jpg|thumb|EOD training and material testing. A 105 mm shell is radiographied with battery powered portable X-ray generator and flat panel detector.]]

Portable X-ray systems are used to radiograph the bomb before intervention. The purpose is for example to determine if a chemical charge is present or to check the status of the detonator. High steel thickness requires high energy and high power sources.

===Projected water disruptors===
[[File:US Navy 090114-N-8730P-037 The detonation of a Boot Banger water charge demonstrates its destructive power.jpg|thumb|right|Boot Banger water charge disrupts simulated bomb.]]
[[File:Bottler.jpg|thumb|Bottler Lite against a small suspect device]]
Projected water disruptors use a water-projectile [[shaped charge]] to destroy bombs, blasting the device apart and severing any detonating connections faster than any fuse or anti-tampering device on the bomb can react. One example is the BootBanger, deployed under the rear compartment of cars suspected to be carrying bombs.<ref name="BootBangerJanes">{{Cite web
  | title = Boot Banger{TM} Mk4 Projected Water Disruptor (United Kingdom), Equipment - EOD weapons
  | work = Jane's website
  | publisher = Jane's Information Group
  | date = February 15, 2010
  | url = http://www.janes.com/articles/Janes-Explosive-Ordnance-Disposal/Boot-Banger-TM-Mk4-Projected-Water-Disruptor-United-Kingdom.html
  | access-date = 2010-08-31}}
</ref> Projected water disruptors can be directional, such as the BootBanger; or omni-directional, an example being the Bottler.<ref name="BottlerAlford">{{Cite web
  | title = Omni-Directional Disruptors
  | work = Alford Technologies website
  | publisher = Alford Technologies Ltd.
  | url = http://www.explosives.net/modules.php?name=Products&pa=list_categories&pid=20&cid=2&cid2=3&cid3=22&cid4=
  | access-date = 2010-08-31
  | archive-date = 1 October 2011
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111001045834/http://www.explosives.net/modules.php?name=Products&pa=list_categories&pid=20&cid=2&cid2=3&cid3=22&cid4=
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref>

===Pigstick===
Pigstick is the British Army term for the waterjet disruptor commonly deployed on the [[Wheelbarrow (robot)|Wheelbarrow]] remotely operated vehicle against IRA bombs in the 1970s. It fires a jet of water driven by a propellent charge to disrupt the [[Electrical network|circuitry]] of a [[bomb]] and disabling it with a low risk of detonation. The modern pigstick is reliable and can be fired many times with minimal maintenance. It is now used worldwide. It is {{convert|485|mm|in}} long and weighs {{convert|2.95|kg|lb}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pigstick Disruptor |url=http://www.chemringeod.com/Download.aspx?ResourceId=14270 |publisher=Chemring EOD |access-date=27 February 2013 }}</ref> It is made of hardened steel, and can be mounted on a [[remotely operated vehicle]] (ROV). These factors make it an effective way to render IEDs safe. It is not a panacea, however: it cannot deal with IEDs packed in hard containers such as industrial gas bottles or beer kegs, and other disruptors have been designed to deal with those and a range of other situations including car bombs.

The device’s concept originated with Major 'Pat' Wilson Patterson RAOC and his team at the Bomb Disposal School, CAD Kineton. It was christened ''pigstick'' in reference to his enjoyment of the sport of pig-sticking when, as a subaltern in the Royal Signals, he was a Pathfinder with the SOE whilst in India in the late 1940s.

The device was developed by the scientists Mike Barker MBE and Peter Hubbard OBE at [[RARDE]] [[Fort Halstead]] in late 1971<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hubbard |first1=Peter, OBE |title=the Exploding Kind |publisher=Peter J. Hubbard |pages=1 to 6 |url=http://www.racheldavid.plus.com/share/The_Exploding_Kind.pdf }}</ref> working under great pressure over a period of several weeks after an [[Ammunition Technical Officer|ATO]] died in Northern Ireland attempting to render safe the first IED in the theatre to contain anti-handling devices.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EoeuCAAAQBAJ |title=Operation Banner: The British Army in Northern Ireland 1969–2007 |first=Nick Van der |last=Bijl |date=19 October 2009 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=9781781599266 |via=Google Books }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19710910&id=j-Y9AAAAIBAJ&sjid=iEgMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2209,1701851 |work=The Glasgow Herald |title=Cahill freed after brief stay in Dublin jail }}</ref>

They started with a prototype equipment designed to disrupt [[limpet mines]] attached to a ship's hull and through a process of many trials and error developed a disruptor that could deal with the crop of IEDs with anti-handling devices prevalent at the time. Barker used the device operationally for the first time in Northern Ireland during a visit there to demonstrate their prototype to [[George Styles (military officer)|George Styles]] and his team.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hubbard |first1=Peter, OBE |title=the Exploding Kind |publisher=Peter J. Hubbard |pages=5 |url=http://www.racheldavid.plus.com/share/The_Exploding_Kind.pdf }}</ref> The Pigstick prototype was re-engineered by a member of Hubbard's team, Bob White MBE, down from its original 20&nbsp;kg to its current 2.95&nbsp;kg form but its internal ballistic design remained true to the original.

{{Blockquote|...in the period 1972–1978, and taking into account machines which had been exported, over 400 Wheelbarrows were destroyed while dealing with terrorist devices. In many of these cases, it can be assumed that the loss of a machine represented the saving of an EOD man's life.|House of Commons Hansard Debates for 21 Oct 1998<ref>{{cite web |author=((Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster)) |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo981021/debtext/81021-17.htm |title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 21 Oct 1998 (pt 17) |publisher=Publications.parliament.uk |date=1998-10-21 |access-date=2013-07-07}}</ref>}}

===ZEUS===
The [[ZEUS-HLONS]] was developed for surface land mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) neutralization by the U.S. Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division (NAVEODTECHDIV). It uses a moderate-power commercial solid state laser (SSL) and beam control system, integrated onto a Humvee (HMMWV), to clear surface mines, improvised bombs, or unexploded ordnance (UXO) from supply routes and minefields.

===Bomb containment chamber===
[[File:ACFD-Bomb-Disposal-Unit.jpg|thumb|A bomb containment chamber]]
There are a wide range of containment chambers available. The simplest are sometimes danger suppression vessels that merely contain some of the fragments generated by the explosion. The other end of the spectrum features top-of-the-line gas-tight chambers that can withstand multiple shots while remaining able to contain [[CBRN defense|chemical, biological, or radioactive agents]]. Containment chambers of all types may be fitted onto towed trailers, or specialised EOD vehicles.

===EOD suits===
{{Main|Bomb suit}}
There is a long history of IEDD within the UK and protection for this role has evolved over the years. Starting with the Mk1 in 1969, in response to the Maoist Terrorist threat in Hong Kong, through to the Mk 2 in 1974, in response to the IRA threat in Northern Ireland (NI), with further developments of the Mk3 in 1980 to include a new helmet. The Mk4 EOD Suit, introduced into service in 1993, combines fragmentation and blast protection that is prioritised over the most vulnerable parts of the body (head, face and torso). The current system, MKV/VI, was introduced in 2004, and was a combined MOD/NP Aerospace project. The only part of the body that has no protection at all is the hands.<ref>''Development of UK Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Systems'', PASS 2004, The Hague</ref>